The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between early intervention providers’ backgrounds, and their perceptions of caregiver coaching and auditory skill development, to develop professional development programs. An explanatory sequential design was used with participants of varying backgrounds and experience. In the first phase of the study, participants responded to a survey regarding their educational background, and their comfort with caregiver coaching and auditory skill development. Survey results were analyzed using Spearman’s Ranked Correlational Coefficient (Spearman’s rs) to form groups of participants from extreme cases. The second phase of the study consisted of participant interviews from each of the groups. Interviews were coded to identify themes present within and between groups. The information from both phases were analyzed to generate how professional preparation and certifications influence service delivery. Results were subsequently analyzed to determine potential improvements in the EI system, professional development, and policy.

Infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities and certain medical conditions are at risk for a variety of adverse outcomes in childhood as well as into adulthood. Early identification and early intervention are essential for improving the trajectories and outcomes of these children. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that affords protections to children with disabilities and those at risk for developmental delays. IDEA provides guidance and regulations to early intervention programs, schools, and states for identifying and delivering intervention services to children ages birth through 21 years. Although the provision of early intervention services are regulated by the federal government through IDEA, states have autonomy to decide how they define and measure disabilities and developmental delays. As a result, states differ greatly in their eligibility criteria as well as in the percentages of children identified for early intervention (IDEA Part C) and preschool special education (IDEA Part B). Thus, children who receive early intervention services may or may not continue to meet criteria for special education once they reach age 3. Few studies have examined the child, family, and early intervention characteristics that relate to how, when, and if children will transition from Part C to Part B. Those studies that have examined these relationships have not focused specifically on how these transitions occur in Florida. The purpose of the present study was to examine child, family, and early intervention characteristics that increase the likelihood of children transitioning from Part C to Part B in Florida. Participants in this study included infants and toddlers who exited the Bay Area Early Steps Program (one of Florida’s Part C providers) in 2016. Archival data were examined using a combination of descriptive statistics, Chi-squares, independent t-tests, and logistic regression analyses. Results of this study indicate that children exiting the Bay Area Early Steps Program were more likely to be eligible for preschool special education (Part B) if they were Black/African American, Hispanic, had an established/diagnosed condition, had a lower socioeconomic status, received speech/language services in Early Steps, received multiple different service types in Early Steps, and/or received Early Steps services in Polk County (as opposed to Hillsborough County). Children were not more likely to be eligible for Part B based on their gender, primary language, length of time in Early Steps, or receipt of occupational therapy, physical therapy, or early intervention services while in Early Steps. The findings of this study provide preliminary information about factors that relate to children’s transitions from early intervention to preschool special education in Florida. The findings also offer practical implications for the day-to-day operations of the Bay Area Early Steps program and the local school districts to which these children transition.

Accumulative family risk factors can have a detrimental impact on young children's social emotional development and future school readiness. Identifying family risk and resilience factors can be a first step in linking families to needed services. Programs that serve families and children need a brief and valid screening tool that can quickly assess family strengths and needs. This study examined the validity and utility of the Environmental Screening Questionnaire (ESQ), a brief caregiver report of the family's situation. Participants included 324 parent/child (ages 3-60 months) dyads from a sample of programs that serve at-risk families (n = 72) and an online sample of caregivers (n = 252). Results from data analyses evaluating the validity and utility were promising. Validity was investigated by examining convergent validity using the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. Caregivers from the online sample who had more family risk factors, as identified in the ESQ, were more likely to have elevated levels of stress (r = .23). Moreover, children from families with increased risk factors tended to have higher scores on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional (ASQ:SE) for two age intervals, 6 and 48 months, for the online sample. Utility data were gathered from caregivers and program staff. Results suggest the ESQ is an effective and useful screening measure that can help professionals identify areas of resource need, organize referral information, and monitor family outcomes. Caregivers found the ESQ to be helpful in understanding personal areas of risk and how risk and resilience factors can affect children's social emotional development. This study assisted in developing preliminary "red flag" risk factors that may be useful to programs serving families and children. Testing of the "red flags" is discussed for future research. / 10000-01-01

There is ample evidence indicating that maltreatment has deleterious effects on the development of infants and toddlers. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2003 requires referrals from child welfare (CW) to IDEA Part C Early Intervention services to provide developmental assessments and services for children younger than three with substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect. Thus, this study aims to examine the effects of Part C services on the well-being of young children and their families in CW. This study used a secondary dataset, the National Survey of Children and Adolescent Well-Being II, to examine the research questions. The study results indicate that Part C services can help to decrease the decline and have greater improvement in the well-being outcomes of young children with and without substantiated cases in CW. Also, Part C services can enhance language and adaptive skills for children who are in need of developmental and learning services. However, the developmental and learning needs of those young children are under-identified and under-addressed by CW professionals. Ample research has emphasized that Part C services can lead to positive outcomes for children who are at risk for developmental delays or dysfunction. If those children and their families are not offered timely and appropriate early interventions, their difficulties can become more severe, which often leads to lifelong consequences. To address the developmental needs of those children as early as possible, this study’s findings indicate an urgent need to enhance CW professionals’ knowledge of early childhood development and intervention as well as to improve their capabilities to identify young children’ developmental needs. State administrators and policymakers should reexamine the existing relationship between CW and Part C to further establish a better referral-making system in response to the mandated referrals under CAPTA of 2003 and IDEA of 2004.

Infants and toddlers who live in poverty are more likely to experience developmental delays or disabilities and less likely to access early intervention (EI) services. The federal initiative Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) was designed to increase access to high quality early learning programs for children at risk for developmental delays due to poverty or disability. Although IDEA, Part C programs were not specifically targeted by this initiative, policies associated with RTT-ELC may have an indirect impact on state EI programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of RTT-ELC on Part C programs by comparing states that received federal grants to states that did not. This study used a social justice framework to identify variables that inform equitable access to high quality Part C programs. Data were extracted from Part C state profiles and compared across states. Awarded states were more likely to increase enrollment of infants and toddlers in Part C Programs and were more likely to use broad eligibility criteria. These findings indicated that although differences were small they could become more pronounced over time. The need for policy change in Part C programs and federal early learning initiatives to directly target infants, toddlers and families in poverty are highlighted through the results of this study.

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